For a year after his first Oscar nomination for
The Departed in 2006, actor
Mark Wahlberg was just about the only talent from that massive ensemble film that was talking up the possibility of a prequel/sequel to
Martin Scorsese's Best Picture winning crime classic. Wahlberg was desperate for that movie to happen and was riding on the wave of enthusiasm for months after it's release because for so long he had been the victim of appearing in mostly shitty movies and finally, here was a part that fit him like a glove and he was addicted to the idea of more. So far he hasn't played Staff Sgt. Dignam again and in fact for the most part his career hadn't changed much, quickly going back to leading horrible movies that no-one really cared for (The Happening, Max Payne). But after his years-long battle to bring a biopic of Mickey Ward to the big screen with
The Fighter finally came off last year under the direction of his friend
David O. Russell - audiences loved it, critics loved it, and Wahlberg would pick up his second Oscar nomination. Wahlberg had found another movie that worked for him. So with The Fighter, we are exactly at the point we were with The Departed. Wahlberg is desperate for a continuation to happen but this time there is something different, this time he is a producer and has more clout in getting a sequel off the ground, plus there's a feeling that people might owe him one. Co-stars
Melissa Leo and
Christian Bale picked up their first Oscar statues for their performances as his mother and brother respectively, director O.Russell picked up his first nomination and
Amy Adams also added to her nomination pool which has since seen her land the lucrative role of Lois Lane in
Man of Steel. There's a feeling that these cast members would show their gratitude to Wahlberg by reprising their roles, the actor saying earlier this year;
Yeah. Everybody had such an amazing experience making the movie that I cant imagine they wouldnt want to go back. But its still kind in the early stages.
Riding off the wave of picking up more awards for The Fighter, Wahlberg said at the
Spike Guys Choice Awards where the film won the moniker of 'Guy Movie of the Year' that he still wants to make The Fighter and that;
We left out the Aturo Gatti fights for a reason... Because thats for Fighter 2... Were not going to do Fighter 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, but were gonna do 2. Were gonna do the Ward/Gatti trilogy.
Is "The Fighter 2" the awards plaudits buzzed pipe dream of an actor who rarely hits this kind of heavy heights of success or unlike The Departed 2, has he got the power this time to make it happen? Well we know it won't be their next movie. After dropping
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune earlier this year, Wahlberg and O.Russell's next collaboration together will be
The Silver Linings Playbook which they are currently courting
Angelina Jolie to co-star. That will keep them busy for a while but perhaps Wahlberg has his chance of another round as Mickey Ward to come afterwards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71l-kIhJ5j8